Kara Danvers (flyinggirl) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2018-05-27 21:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, ~2018 may, ~25 points, ~~bucky barnes (notzimniysoldat), ~~kara danvers (flyinggirl) |
Who: Bucky Barnes & Kara Danvers
What: Reunited (and it feels so good)
Where: Their house
When: A few hours after Bucky's return
Warnings: Spoilers for Infinity War
Status: started in gdocs/will continue in comments
Bucky had reappeared right in front of Steve and they’d been able to scratch the surface of what had happened back in their world. He couldn’t call that place home, even though Wakanda was pretty damn close to it. Home was Madison, was his life here with Kara, Molly, V, Summer and Cap. He’d taken a shower after reconnecting with Steve and changed into fresh clothes before padding down to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee and fix himself a sandwich. Kara would be home soon and he was going to need the recharge.
He looked a lot better than he had before he’d gotten sent home. The work Shuri had done on his mind had eased so much of the burden on his shoulders, as had the simple life he’d lived. He hadn’t lost his skills even after all that time spent in recovery, so he knew he could relax even further here. Even after being killed, disintegrated by a single snap, he felt free. His life was finally his and Madison Valley was it. Bucky was determined to make the best of it.
When he heard the door click open, Bucky set his half eaten sandwich back on his plate and moved so that he was in Kara’s line of sight. “Hey,” he greeted, soft and so full of love. He was so glad to see her again.
***
The last few days had been rough, but Kara still wasn’t giving up hope that Bucky would return even though Steve was back already. He hadn’t told her much about what happened though it was obvious it hadn’t been pleasant. So far, she hadn’t pushed for details, though if much more time passed without her fiance coming back, she would.
She dropped the bags in her hand when she walked in the door and saw him standing there. “You’re back,” she said, running towards him and wrapping her arms around him without hesitation. “Oh my god, I missed you.”
There would be plenty of time to catch up on what happened. At the moment, she just wanted to appreciate the fact that he was here. Molly would also be thrilled and Kara was relieved that they wouldn’t have to quietly dispose of wedding things at some point in the future.
***
He'd been expecting that reaction and grinned as he caught her in his arms. "I missed you too," Bucky replied. He held her tightly and just breathed her in. It'd been a long time without her for him, even though he knew he'd only been gone for a few days in Madison. Time was a fickle bitch when it came to their home, but if it meant they could get back to their lives, he was going to be grateful for it.
Bucky set her down on her feet and kissed her deeply. He was home.
"I love you. I'm back, I love you, I'm sorry I left." Bucky couldn't even say much else because those were all the important pieces.
***
“I love you, too. And it’s not your fault.” Kara didn’t need him to apologize. It wasn’t like he’d left her on purpose. She wasn’t going to let go of him anytime soon though.
Though when her hand grazed his metal arm, she realized it felt different and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at it. “You got a new arm.” She was definitely curious about it though she was hesitant to ask too many questions. He seemed to be in fairly good spirits, which was rather in contrast to how Steve had been since his return.
“And I like your hair a little longer,” she added, looking back up at him with a smile.
***
Bucky smiled back widely in return. "Shuri made it for me," he replied. "Much more responsive, and it doesn't hurt the way my other arm did." Not that he'd ever made a big deal about the fact that his arm had still hurt even after being in Wakanda's cryotube for a short period of time before arriving in Madison Valley. Between the better functionality, sleeker design, and the physical therapy he'd gotten, he felt like a new man.
"A lot happened in two years." He didn't mind that he hadn't missed two years in Madison Valley. It would have been so much worse if he'd been gone for that long. His good mood was entirely because he was back here, home, when he was dead now in his world. Bucky wasn't sure that Kara needed to know that, but he knew he'd have to tell her sooner rather than later.
"Did Steve tell you anything?" Because while he'd seen his best pal, they hadn't really talked about who knew what.
***
Kara shook her head. “Not much,” she said. “He mentioned that it was a rough couple of years, but that wasn’t really a surprise. I didn’t ask a lot of questions because it was pretty obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it.” She tried to be considerate of that and succeeded largely because it was only two days since Bucky disappeared too. If he was gone a few more days, that would have changed.
“Who’s Shuri?” she asked. That wasn’t a name she recognized from before.
The aura of peace around him was obvious and a little surprising. Given how rough Steve looked, Kara was expecting Bucky to return battered and beat down too. He did look a little bruised, but nothing like what she was expecting.
***
Bucky wasn’t surprised Steve had kept it to himself, but he was hoping his pal had at least opened up to his wife. Otherwise, there was going to have to be some conversations because they’d never hear the end of it if someone else told them what had happened. He guided Kara to the couch and took a seat there with her so that he could fill her in.
“It wasn’t an easy two years we were gone for,” Bucky replied softly. “When I first got here, it was right after T’Challa granted me asylum in Wakanda. Shuri is his sister and she’s. Well. She’s a genius. Just a teenager but she fixed me up and got me the help I needed.” Between talk therapy, physical therapy, and a quiet, simple life, Bucky had healed a lot. He’d made peace with his past and resolved to focus on his future instead.
“I was living in Wakanda when the war broke out.” He was calm as he filled her in, not distant or detached the way he had been when he’d talked about the past previously. “This guy, he wanted to balance the scales by killing half the universe. Claimed there was finite resources and if places were left unchecked, they’d destroy themselves. Well, he had been just going planet to planet, but there was a way for him to do it all at once, with a snap of his fingers. Came to Earth to get it.” And they’d put up a hell of a fight, but it hadn’t been enough.
He glanced down at their hands, not sure of when he’d laced his fingers with hers. “We lost. He snapped his fingers and I reappeared here.”
***
Horror grew as Kara listened to Bucky’s explanation of what happened, but when he finished, it took her a long moment to put things together and understand what he was saying. She gripped his hand tightly, her face going pale.
“Are you saying that you… I mean…. “ She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words. The idea that this was it for Bucky, that if he went home again, he wouldn’t be likely to ever come back, was too much for her to even consider.
***
It wasn't good, brought about a lot more things to worry over, but for the most part he was just glad to be back in Madison for however much time he had left. "Never anyway to know for sure," Bucky replied, "but yes." He and Steve had each cheated death once. He was pretty sure that was all they were going to get, but stranger things had happened. Like some guy snapping his fingers to get rid of half the universe.
Bucky lifted his human hand up to cup the side of her face. "I'm here now. That's what matters," he said, trying to comfort her. "I'm right where I belong." Family had been, and always would be, the most important thing in the world to him. The people living in this house, they were all he needed to be okay. They both knew he couldn't promise that he'd always stay here with them. That just wasn't how the Dome worked. "We should focus on the here and now."
***
Focusing on the here and now was a lot easier said than done, but Kara pressed her lips together and swallowed hard, determined not to cry. Instead, she nodded and leaned in to kiss him again, needing that reassurance that he was here and okay.
A part of her wanted to say screw waiting and let’s get married right now, but she didn’t think the dome would be cruel enough to bring him back for less than two weeks.
Once she was sure she had a handle on her emotions, she pulled back. “At least you made it back for the wedding,” she said. “Molly was worried.” She had been too.
***